Seven Wonders
by spyder-m
Summary: To see, to hear, to touch, to taste, to smell, to live, to love. Cloud ponders over what the real 'seven wonders' of the world are, and how they relate to one of the most important people in his life. Clotif. Revised 16/6/10.


A/N: I've been meaning to write a fic based on this pairing for quite a while now. So, here it is! This is my first FF:VII fanfic, so I hope it turned out alright! :D Please give me your honest opinion.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Final Fantasy VII. If I did, the game would've definitely had a remake by now.

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Seven Wonders

Being a delivery boy, Cloud was no stranger to the eclectic sights and sounds Gaia had to offer. Even before starting Strife Delivery Service, he had travalled abroad quite extensively as a part of the terrorist organisation Avalanche.

Cosmo Canyon, Costa de Sol, the Gold Saucer, you name it, the ex-merchenary had experienced it at one point or another. So naturally, he was familiar with the landmarks, natural and manmade that comprised the 'Seven Wonders' of the world.

It wasn't that Cloud wasn't intrigued by the errie, dark atmosphere of the Forgotten City, or that he didn't enjoy the vast, stretching sandy plans of Costa de Sol. He just didn't know if he would exactly describe them as wonders. He felt there were much more significant things in life that many people already had ahold of, and often took for granted.

_To see._

Cloud had always loved watching Tifa...

As a young boy he would always admire her shyly from afar, only to grow up worriedly glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. Older, stronger, wiser, but still very much the same socially awkward and reclusive person.

It was the one thing that had been constant through all the sadness, loss and fighting they had experienced.

It was the one thing that would always remain.

Seeing her gracefully twisting and arching her body with such sheer power and agility, as she fought; watching her dark, silken locks of hair spill over the fine porcelain skin of her shoulder blades; even catching a glimpse of the slow, moist beads of sweat trickling gradually down the surface of her forehead and catching in her thick, full lashes.

But most of all, he cherished seeing the genuine, breath taking smile that would completely light up her features, easing the pain and suffering that had transpired between the two over the years. That heart warming expression alone was what reassured on a daily basis that everything was okay.

She'd being smiling a lot more recently...

Now that he was around.

_To hear._

Her voice had always been heavenly to him, like a siren song calling out to his heart.

The sound of his name leaving her lips was nothing short of intoxicating.

The feminine ripple of her laughter as his hands tickled over her epidermis, elicited an abundance of joy and content within the man's being. It always sounded so innocent, so nostalgic.

The very idea that his actions could create such a reaction from her; his beautiful, loving, powerful childhood friend; simply left Cloud in awe.

The desperate shrieks of pain or distress overcoming her tone during their numerous battles, would always tug painfully at his heartstrings.

It was the sound he dreaded the most.

The one sound would do anything in his power to keep from having to hear again.

_To touch. _

Cloud had never really been good with offering affection.

Having spent most of his adolescence being held in captivity and experimented on, and the early stages of his adulthood working to build up a cold and emotionless exterior, he hadn't really had many opportunities to supply comfort or compassion to other individuals. He'd had enough trouble trying to support himself.

Yet, somehow with Tifa it was different.

She just managed to bring a completely different side to him, and the calloused, worn hands that were normally only comfortable when wielding the handle of a large, menacing sword, were somehow put an ease.

Her sighs of content, the relaxing feel of her chest rising and falling as she breathed, it all work together to reassure him.

He would always revel in the feeling of Tifa's body against the bare flesh of his hands. Her smooth, silky hair being weaved gently in thick strands between his lean digits, his fingertips dancing over her creamy skin of her toned stomach. His fingers caressing her soft lips.

_To taste._

Cloud relished the taste of those lips against his own, a warm, sweet sensation overcoming his senses.

They were simply devine.

Soft, smooth, luscious.

A welcome contrast to his own, which often felt cracked and dry after long, hard days of making deliveries.

Their lips would brush softly, in brief, passionate caresses, as he memorised it.

The fragrance of her that he longed for, he now had.

_To smell. _

Tifa scent had always been unique, and intriguing to him.

The strong floral aroma of her shiny, luscious locks of her hair seemed to naturally exude.

The intoxicating fragrance that perspired from the crook of her neck, like a mingling of her perfume and natural scent of her body.

Each morning he would wake, his arms secured around her waist, feeling her hair tickling his cheek, her chest rising and falling gently as she breathed softly, rhythmically.

Yet, even with his eyes closed, even when she'd awoken prior to him, he could still her presence, the essence of her clinging to him.

The consistent reassurance that she was safe, and for him to be grateful for the signficant fortune his life had now been blessed with.

_To live._

There had been a time in his life where Cloud had questioned his own existence, his purpose, his very reason for being alive.

He felt like he'd lost all sense of direction, his motivation for living, wallowing each day in the guilt of the lives they had lost. The friends he felt he'd failed.

She was the one who showed him the way.

She supported him, helping to overcome the demons of his past.

She helped him to let go, and move on with his life.

He used to fight to survive.

Now, he fought to protect her, to defend himself.

To secure the future they had together.

He fought to see another day, to see her face, express the love he felt for her and regret he harboured for not having confided in her sooner.

He lived for her.

His existence was significant part of her own.

And in that fact alone, Cloud found more than enough strength to carry on.

_To love._

After the loss of his mother, it had been the one thing Cloud had spent his entire life searching for...

But as he held the warmth of her body within his arms, bundled deep within the her of their mutual embrace, he knew he had finally found it again.

...

She was all he saw.

She was all he heard and felt.

She was the aroma he savoured.

She was his reason, what he lived for.

She was his love.

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A/N:

This is actually based on a true story I heard from my mum. In a special education class once, a teacher asked all of their students to write out what they thought were the Seven Wonders of the World. So naturally, most of the kids wrote out examples of natural and man made artefacts like The Taj Mahal, Stone Henge, that sort of thing. All except for one autistic boy who wrote as his answer the very list I used in this story.

I dunno, that's just something that really opened my eyes and has stuck with me for a long time. I've always thought it would make for a good fic, and there was something about it that I felt fit Cloud's personality, resulting in this. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it! Please R&R. :D


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